Shining Armor closed the curtains and turned on the lights.
A select few ponies of no small decoration sat on simple chairs at a wooden table where a map of Equestria was spread out. It had markings, words, and even a legend.
The captain glanced at the ten-times locked door with its array of unique locks that went from top to bottom.
Only the necessities were inside: canned food, bottled water, taken photos, and foldered documents. The rest of the room was very much empty.
Shining looked at the calendar on the wall.
The first day was crossed out.
He sighed, cast his eyes upon the map.
One of the other ponies coughed.
"Over sixty days," Shining murmured. "Sixty days. He's outwitted us, used our weaknesses against us. This isn't acceptable at all."
Half of them gulped.
He brought a hoof to the map. "Here's the state of the kingdom: Everything from Yakyakistan to Brindle on the West Coast is under their control. Las Pegasus is our last major shipbuilding city there. After that, we might as well be cut off from the two Luna Oceans. The San Palomino Desert is made up of cobbled towns...there's no way any of the local militia can stand up to them. The only thing that's kept us safe from total overrun is the Unicorn Range. I would like to thank you, Counter Drill, for your acts of bravery and quick thinking through it all."
The general in question nodded, his short orange mane standing still.
"The Canterlot Front has been in stalemate for a while. I wish it would've been better, but it's certainly not a full-scale retreat. There's no shortage of willing ponies...yet. I'll get to that later.
"In the East, the guard's keeping them at bay. Good thing we have very productive cities such as Fillydelphia, Baltimare, Manehattan, and Trottingham. The risk of a naval invasion on the latter two is understandbly scary, but as long as we protect the Matcha Passage, we'll be fine.
"Regarding the homefront, not enough ponies are giving their all for this fight. We don't have enough factories producing weapons, foodstuffs, uniforms, and other military equipment. Everypony's still eating too much, diverting much agricultural effort away from the soldiers.
"If we don't think up of a good solution anytime soon, we won't see this war ending before the year's up."
Silence.
"That's the truth. The hard truth."
Radar raised his hoof. "Sir, you know that we're working as hard as we can."
"You're more than good...in defense." Shining groaned. "What we need to do is to disrupt the status quo. We need to think of a big push, a large offensive, that will catch Sombra and his slaves by surprise. It has to be concentrated, on time, and executed perfectly."
Counter Drill put his hoof on the table. "But, we don't have any idea what that entails! We get what you're saying, captain, but the specifics are unknown to us."
"Then, know them!"
Gasping for breath. Sweat on his face.
All watching him. Fearful, hesitant.
"Alright. We can keep it together. We could make a beeline for the heart of it all: the Crystal Empire itself. But, we need to gather as many forces as we can. We need to set up training for mountain burrowing, military deception, localized storms—everything new we could imagine being feasible, unlike those horrible trenches that didn't do anything except make us easy pickings for long-range unicorns."
A red hoof then touched the map. "Why not a slow attack on all fronts?"
"Because, Liform, that will take too much time. The ponies at home—they're very patriotic, but it won't last forever. Their resolve will weaken if this war goes on for too long. We need something decisive and we need it as soon as possible."
"Use their weapons against them," another pony in the group said.
"Which weapons?" Shining repeated, asking him in desperation.
"The weapon that sent every single pony in Las Pegasus running for their lives."
Murmurs between.
"You have to be joking, Oblique," Shining uttered. "What would they think of us? We need to be better than them."
"And let tens of thousands of ponies die as you stand by helplessly?" Oblique shot back. "These are dire times. You said it yourself that we need decisive action. What I propose is that."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Radar yelled, snarling at him. "The citizens of Equestria won't forgive us of using such a horrendous weapon! We're trying to minimize as many deaths as we can!"
"The Crystal Empire wasn't always evil, you know!" Liform added, joining in the fray. "We're not fighting the many faceless ponies. We're only fighting one."
"Well," Oblique began, "if you can't show them, then what's the use?"
"We have the Princess's mages at work everyday for that," Shining said.
"Yet, there's no counterspell, correct?"
Silence.
"Each day we don't have a counterspell is a day where more of us suffer. I suggest the fastest ending to a war in Equestrian history, and that is by making a similar potion but even better." A pause. "They're too soft. They only knock out ponies cold. What we need is something more...impactful than that."
"You're not suggesting a lethal potion, are you?" Shining asked, suspicious.
"If lethal is too bad for you," Oblique replied, "then you can take it down a notch and, say, paralysis. Can't battle if you can't move, am I right?" His lips curled to create a unnerving smile.
"But, will it be curable?" Aerosol asked. "When the war's over, we have to make them move again."
"Oh, I don't know about that..." Oblique frowned.
Shining paced around the table. "Your ideas are valued here. But, you're taking this too far. This will tarnish the name of Equestria. We've always fought with an honorable respect for the enemy. Yes, King Sombra is tremendously evil and wants to take over the world, but his slaves can't choose for themselves. They don't know any better. They only follow orders and can't do anything else because of the mind control spell."
Oblique removed his frown, making a blank face. "OK. If that is your decision on the matter, then I'm afraid that my attendance here is of no use."
He stood up.
"No, sir," Radar said, standing up. "You better stay here!"
"Let him go," Shining commanded. "He's done his part."
His horn glowed. The locks glowed, moving about until the door was open, allowing Oblique to walk out without a word.
Shining Armor stood in front of his bed inside the dark bedroom. It was a big bed, fit for two ponies. Cadance herself occupied one half of the bed, deep in sleep and covered in her blanket.
A fireplace, an enormous portrait of the lovely couple, a table for two. A tea set. Tall windows, closed curtains.
He felt his frazzled mane. His tired eyes closed—to open up again.
Tip-hoofed to his wife.
That delicate, gentle face. In sleep, a graceful beauty.
Shining kissed her on the cheek.
Walked to the other side of the bed.
Plopped himself on it.
Dragged the blankets up.
Laid himself on the side.
Eyes fluttering.
Closed.
"Agh!"
Sat up. Open curtains. Morning glare.
"Shiny!"
She stood up from the table. Ran to him. Held his hoof.
"What's wrong?"
"Saw...ponies...falling...homes dying—" between breaths, gasps, panting for air and reality. "It's not...it's not my fault, is it?"
Cadance held him closer. Hugged. "It's only a bad dream."
He scratched his head, face dazed. "What if...it won't be?"
"Make sure it won't come true."
A carriage at the street, at the end of their mansion's stone path. Two armored white pegasi waited, already hooked.
It was a sunny morning.
"Promise me you won't have those nightmares again?" Cadance said as she closed the huge door behind them.
"Yeah, yeah." Shining rubbed his head. "I'll look for Princess Luna when it happens."
Cadance nodded. "Good. Be careful out there."
"I'll be."
Hugged.
Cadance sat inside a cold ice cream parlor, holding a bowl of strawberry ice cream on the counter. Its color did complement hers.
The glass windows were as big as the wall, letting in much of the sunlight. Swivel chairs at the counter, fixed seats at the tables modestly occupied by ponies eating ice cream. Sugary scent. Chalkboard menus that told everypony inside what the flavor of the day was: Apple Pear Surprise. Needless to say, this caused more than a few wary looks, one pony even scoffing at the idea of such a combination of fruits.
Cadance did not mind him. Instead, with a solemn expression on her face, she levitated a spoon and scooped out some ice cream.
A blue suited stallion went up on the chair beside him. He rested a hoof on the counter. "Ma'am," he said, eyeing one of the cashiers, "get me a Triple Deluxe Premium Chocolate Sundae drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce, topped with only yellow and red sprinkles, three cherries on top, and a slice of pancake."
Cadance glanced at the cavalier pony. "Wow. You must have lots of bits at hoof. Who are you?"
"Ah, the Princess of Love herself!" he said, extending an open hoof. "What a pleasure to be meeting royalty in the confines of an ice cream store. I'm Svengallop." He took back his hoof and placed it on his tie. "You may know me as the manager of one of the most famous rising stars in the music scene: Countess Coloratura!" He stretched a hoof to the air, making a big show out of it.
"Sir," one of the cashiers said, having approached him from behind the counter, "we're out of pancake slices. They've sold out."
"Then, go make more of them!" Svengallop said, figuratively pushing her away with a hoofwave.
"Uh, the next batch of pancake slices won't arrive until later in the afternoon."
"Urgh!" He took his glasses off. "Fine! Replace it with shaved almonds."
"We don't do shaved almonds here, and it's 'sliced almonds'—"
"It'll be a first for this store and you'll relish in it," Svengallop said before dropping a heavy bag of bits.
The cashier's eyes glimmered at that. "Yeah, we do shaved almonds here. Wait one sec." She took the bag.
As the cashier scooped up the ice cream and other ingredients for the sundae, Cadance turned back to him. "You're a bit...pushy for a music manager."
"Hah! You can't let your guard down when it comes to a fast-moving industry like music. You must hit the perfect balance of creative freedom and managerial control, and I believe I've hit it, if I do say so myself." He fixed his tie and sprayed more cologne on himself.
Cadance swung her hoof about, driving the fragrance away from her. "I think you...do. I've heard her name before, but I haven't listened to any of her songs."
"Quite sad," Svengallop said, putting the cologne back into a shirt pocket. "Then again, she's only a rising star. I won't keep her that way, though. Her journey to ultimate fame isn't complete yet, and she'll thank many ponies along the way. I'm glad that I could be one of them."
Cadance placed a hoof on her chin. "Hmm. Have you considered cheering up the poor war ponies in the North?"
"Too dangerous," Svengallop immediately answered. "I keep myself up-to-date with what's happening from over ten news oulets throughout Equestria, and what I do know is that they're bombarding even the supply lines. I don't want to be the pony who sends the Countess off to an early grave."
Cadance gulped. "I see."
"Here's your order, sir," the cashier said, hoofing him a glass that had a dozen scoops of chocolate ice cream, little streams of chocolate and caramel, sprinkles and cherries and sliced almonds (not shaved). Some frost came out from it.
"Ah, perfect!" Svengallop said, taking a small spoon from the spoon container beside the cash register.
He opened the glass doors of a shoe store, breathing in the fresh smell of shoes that permeated the premises.
"Oh, Countess Coloratura!" Svengallop called out. "Your shopping spree is over! Hurry up and—" closed his mouth, eyes wide as he took his glasses off again.
At the center, in front of a display of some expensive rubber shoes, a mare cried on the countess's shoulders.
"No..."
Coloratura patted her on the back. She whipped her head around, moving her ridiculously long mane from that drenched face.
Other ponies watched.
"They broke his horn!" she screamed, pulling Coloratura down. "They shattered his horn! You must do something, please! Save him!"
Closed her eyes. "I wish I could." Patted her. "But, I can't help you. I can't give him a brand new horn."
"But, you must! He can't function in society if he doesn't have a horn! If he doesn't get it back, he has to relearn everything from scratch! I don't want to see him that way—please!"
Tears down their cheeks.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but I can't do anything much for your husband."
"Can you bring him back to me?!" She clung on. "Bring him back from that horrible place in the snowy mountains! What if they get more than just his horn the next time? What if they take his life and take my love away?! No!"
Sobbed. Reddened eyes. Dried face to be soaked once more in sorrow.
Shaky legs. Grip on the countess.
Others held to their faces, too. Tears about to flow.
Coloratura opened her eyes. Saw her.
Saw him. Svengallop.
"Svengallop. We need to talk."
He gulped.
As the late afternoon rolled on, the countess and her manager walked about on a rather secluded street of tall houses. The windows were shut. Some transmitted their loud snores to the outside world.
"I've always wanted to add a touching element to my concerts," Coloratura began, "but, in an odd way, I'm a bit happy that we have this bad war going on."
Svengallop let out a yelp of shock. "What?! Why?! Don't you know that ponies get hurt in war?"
"Of course, I know," she said. "But, the more that I think about what they go through everyday, every week, every month...it racks my mind because, as long as I take care of myself, I could help them out in some way. You know, cheer them up."
Svengallop caught something in his throat and swallowed it. "Oh, really? And, what would that helpful way be, Countess?"
"Organizing a tour that hits all the major barracks." She smiled. "I'm sure that will keep them going emotionally, even if it's for a little while."
Svengallop pretended to catch something in his throat again, "trying" to speak.
"You need me to help you with that?" Coloratura said before slapping his neck.
"Ow!"
"There, that's better."
Svengallop fixed his tie again. "Your proposition is very sound. However, don't you think that you'll be getting yourself in severe danger? I wouldn't want to be responsible for your death."
"Every good act is risky," Coloratura replied. "I'm willing to risk even my life to make sure my fellow ponies stay happy."
"Hm?" He raised an eyebrow at her, gave her an examining look.
"Oh, if you're wondering about how we could set up the stage there, I can show you when we get there."
"When we get there?" Svengallop shook in his hooves.
"That's why we're going to the train station. We'll get a good view of the first place we'll tour: Middle North Point. A short trip of, say, an hour."
He gulped again and fixed his tie another time, more forcefully. "At least you will get the much-needed exposure an up-and-coming singer requires in this day and age of sound."
Coloratura clapped her hooves in excitement. "Ooh! Thank you, Svengallop!"
She hugged him.
"Right," he managed in her choking grip. "You're welcome."
As the duo passed by the donut shop under serious renovation complete with scaffolds, power tools, and construction ponies (even some pegasi flying near the top of said scaffolds), a dull brown unicorn raced past them, warranting a "Hey! Watch where you're going, you rube!" from Svengallop.
Golden Gavel galloped, everything around him a blur.
Dodged a cart.
Avoided a pony.
Round a corner.
Ran.
Others looked at him, some gasping.
After a minute, he reached his destination with sweat on his face and on his three-piece suit.
Before him was an auction house. It was a medieval-looking house fitted with modern style, for flat concrete protrusions stuck out from the intricately-crafted exterior walls with their curved windows. On the archway over the double doors was this motto: "I add, I increase".
An armored soldier opened the door and carried a small box of items outside down the stairs.
"This isn't possible!" he shouted. "They can't be that fast!"
"We are," the soldier said before he flew over the street.
Golden Gavel dropped his jaw.
"Stop the presses! Stop them all! Stop!"
But, it was useless.
Golden Gavel stood there, holding on to the wall as he saw everything dismantled. Paintings, vases, coins, swords, manuscripts, clothes—all taken down from their respective places and dumped into boring old cardboard boxes. One of the soldiers even tried removing the precious paint off of the wall, but he was reprimanded by his commanding officer and so left the wall alone.
"I didn't get any notice at all!" he said, close to pleading as his knees buckled. "You can't throw these precious historical artifacts away!"
"Yes, we can," the commanding officer said, wearing a bushy mustache and bulky armor as he approached the auctioneer. "You can call us the 'Yes, we can' squad because that's we are capable of. Anyway, this is under direct orders from Princess Celestia herself."
"I know, but—"
"There is no use arguing with a Princess," the officer interjected.
"That's what her court is for!"
He drank a glass of water. "I truly apologize for doing this. But, it is for a better future we all want."
Golden Gavel yanked the glass away. "Don't touch it! This is the very glass that Prince Blueblood's great-grandfather drank aged cider from!"
"We'll sell it off at the highest price," the officer said, yanking it back.
"Wait—what?"
"Yes, you heard that right."
Golden Gavel smacked himself on the face. "Really?! I'm the pony who's supposed to auction those things off! You'll get more money if you let an auctioneer like me handle it!"
The officer chuckled. "Such a moody unicorn. Why didn't you say so?"
Then, a grating of the floor.
They turned around.
Saw a soft sofa pushed out of the door.
"That's not for sale!" Golden Gavel shouted, pointing at the piece of furniture.
"Oh." He tapped the auctioneer on the shoulder. "I forgot to tell you that we're selling the most expensive stuff from your personal belongings as well."
The former auctioneer sat down on the stairway to the sidewalk, hooves covering his eyes. A silent pony there, ignoring the line of soldiers filling up a wagon attached to a carriage of four drivers.
A scarfed white stallion walked up to him and sat down.
"What's up?"
Golden Gavel looked at him straight in the eye. "What? Who are you?"
"Second autograph?" a voice asked.
The two turned their heads at Star Tracker, grinning as he held out a notepad and a quill on one hoof. "I got it pre-inked before I got to here!"
Golden Gavel gestured a hoof toward the many boxes of valuables transported to the wagon.
"Oh. Not the best time." He glanced left and right. "Bye!"
And he dashed out of the scene.
"Distractions," the white pony said. "So, you're semi-famous around here?"
"You could say that," Golden Gavel replied. "But, you only have to wait a week. My name will be stained because of this sudden catastrophe knocking by unannounced."
"That is tragic," he told, shaking his head. "How things go here, I guess."
"I barely know you, and you dare talk about my problems like you're my brother?" He narrowed his eyes.
"Let's say that I know you more than you think," the white pony said. "I also know some of your friends and acquaintances as well, going up the socialite ladder, so to speak."
"It's 'social ladder'."
"Whatever." He smiled. "What I want you to know is that my mission is accomplished."
"What mission are you talking about? Are you a secret agent?" He stood up on the stairs, looking down on him.
The white pony stood up, too, eye-to-eye. "Sort of. That doesn't make me so secret, but I don't care."
"Are you an enemy I've wronged?" Golden Gavel asked, shuddering. "I'm sorry for what I've done, whatever I did!"
"Technically, you've wronged all of us." He lowered his eyebrows. "Equally."
Golden Gavel gasped. Croaking, pointing at him with blinking eyes. "You!"
"Catch me if you can, mister."
And away he ran.
Double Diamond barreled through the closing train doors and fell to the floor.
The train was off, chugging along.
"Ow..." He rubbed a sore hoof. "Next time, no super close escapes."
A sweet giggle.
Diamond got on his four hooves, staring at the mare on the seat. The rays of the setting sun could not pierce her curly mane wrapped in a ponytail. Her scarlet eyes glittered, and that sweet giggle...
"We got one down," he said, taking up the space beside her. "Golden Gavel's going to be gone. If he really wanted to help out his soldier friends, he would've done everything he could to do so. But, he didn't, so I did it for him."
"Looks like the plan with Princess Celestia worked out in the end," Sugar Belle said. "I didn't expect that to work. Then again, she's always kinder than we think."
Double Diamond nodded. "Last step is to wait it out."
"And, see what happens on the news tomorrow," she finished.
"Everypony will be so proud to hear that it's successful," he said. "The Canterlot elite will tumble down. We'll end the nobility's inequality in days!"
"They'll finally see what it feels like to actually work!" she went on, making a smile that was close to evil. "They have to earn the right to eat and drink and own possessions!"
He chuckled.
And blushed.
"I saw that," Sugar Belle quipped, smiling at him.
The train headed Northeast, trudging through plenty corn and wheat fields.